American Laws for American Courts Wins Major Bipartisan Victory in Kansas Legislature

Kansas bill protecting fundamental constitutional rights from foreign laws goes to governor’s desk following bi-partisan legislative victory

Topeka, KS, May 16 2012- On Friday May 11, the American Laws for American Courts legislation (SB79) to protect the fundamental constitutional rights of Kansas residents was approved by a bi-partisan 33-3 Senate vote following the unanimous 120-0 passage in the House earlier in the week. The Kansas bill, sponsored by Rep. Peggy Mast, is based closely on the American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) model legislation put forth by the American Public Policy Alliance (APPA).  Thousands of Kansans came out in bi-partisan support of ALAC. Legislators reported receiving over 30,000 emails, phone calls and letters in support of the legislation.  This unequivocal victory for the Kansas law in the House and Senate is the latest vindication of a long-term national trend supporting constitutional protections for ALL Americans  against foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines that have found their way into our court systems. 

• ALAC passed with broad bipartisan support in Kansas, just as it did previously in Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona.  The APPA has previously stated that their goal is to extend ALAC’s constitutional protections to all 50 states by 2020.

• ALAC was also passed by overwhelming margins in state Houses in Florida, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and Missouri, the Indiana Senate, and the Judiciary Committees of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, only to be scuttled in last-minute interventions by special interests acting against the wishes of the vast majority of voters and legislators.

• The following statistics demonstrate the strong and growing support by majorities of legislators for ALAC across the United States:
  • Louisiana Senate Vote: 33-3
  • Louisiana House Vote: 94-0
  • Tennessee House Vote: 96-0
  • Tennessee Senate Vote: 32-0
  • Oklahoma House Vote: 76-3
  • Indiana Senate Vote: 50-0
  • Missouri House of Representatives Vote: 110-46
  • Florida House Vote: 92-24
  • Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee: 13-0
  • Florida House Judiciary Committee: 14-1
  • Florida Senate Judiciary Committee: 6-0
  • Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee: 9-0
  • Georgia House Judiciary Committee: 7-2

This comes despite well-funded efforts opposing the bill by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American Islamic Relations, as well as a $3 million national PR campaign to bring Shariah law to America, backed by the Muslim Brotherhood-tied Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).   “American Laws for American Courts is the primary 21st Century civil rights initiative to ensure constitutional liberties for all Americans,” said Center for Security Policy President Frank J. Gaffney Jr. “It is needed especially to protect women and children, who have been identified by international human rights organizations as the primary victims of discriminatory foreign laws.”   At the website Shariah Law and American State Courts, the Center for Security Policy has compiled fifty cases in 23 states  showing examples of a representative foreign legal system - Islamic Shariah Law - introduced into American courts, in conflict with the Constitution or state public policy in the particular cases.

David Reaboi
dreaboi@securefreedom.org OR
202-719-2410 

The Center for Security Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan national security organization that specializes in identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security and then ensures that such issues are the subject of both focused, principled examination and effective action by recognized policy experts, appropriate officials, opinion leaders, and the general public.

For more information visit <http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/>